Violent delights
by kickasskunoichi
Summary: They meet unexpectedly, hunting the same target, the Akatsuki, a group who earn from the suffering of others. Sasuke and Sakura must find a way to bring them down, even if that means working together. But what secret is Sasuke hiding? Assassin AU. Contains violence.
1. Chapter 1

**_i. intro_**

She entered the tavern, hood drawn and weapons concealed beneath the dark fabric. Her curious presence did not draw much attention from the revellers as they sat with glasses full of amber liquid, laughing in groups or watching the small screen above the bar with disinterested eyes. This was a regular stop before she took on a new job. She liked the humane feeling it gave her before she was about to commit something quite the opposite.

As she made her way across the dim, cramped space to a vacant barstool, she needed only to lift a finger to alert the barkeeper of her order. Waiting with her chin rested on her palm, Sakura's eyes drifted upwards to the screen to see what the guzzlers next to her were making such a commotion about.

A faint, unbelievable smile played at her lips as she watched the news anchor report on a recent assassination. This one wasn't her doing, no, that was not the reason why amusement transcended her features. This assassin – this stupid, idiotic assassin – had the audacity to reveal his identity. In fact, he was even made out to take _pride_ in the killing.

What was he thinking? His name, _Sasuke Uchiha_ , was repeated over and over again as a bloodied crime scene displayed the remains of his unfortunate victim.

She shook her head, trying not to laugh. He should know better. In a town like this, in a business as such, it was crucial you remain a secret. People feared the unknown. They could not retaliate against the unknown. There was no conceivable reason to let yourself be exposed like this.

Her drink arrived, and she swirled it around in the glass, pretending to be interested in the intoxicating fluid. She took a few sips, but cringed at the bitter taste. She had no care for alcohol. But still she sat for a long while, her eyes unfocused on the stained wood, running through her assignment in her head.

The news changed, and Sakura's grip tightened on the glass. It now relayed that the infamous Akatsuki were yet again up to their scheming antics.

But she didn't need the reminder. They would all be dead by the time she was finished.

...

Leaping across the rooftops, Sakura paused before the one that held her interest. Dawn was fast approaching, and the cold air bit through her clothes to her skin. She didn't let it deter her, but she was surprised to see another silhouette crouched beside the high rooftop window leading to her targets.

"So you're the idiot everyone's been talking about," she said as she approached. "The whole point of being an assassin is that _no one's supposed to know who you are_."

The black haired man glared back at her. "No, the whole point of being an assassin is to _kill_."

"Sasuke Uchiha," she said, an incredulous laugh puffing the air before her lips. "Just as charming as they make you out to be."

"Tch. Why are you here?"

She knelt down at the other end of the window, and looked down into the building. "Same reason as you, I suspect. Someone hired me to take out the Akatsuki."

His jaw locked. "I don't need any help."

"Who said I was going to help you? I'm here on my own job. I guess the people who hired us must've been pretty desperate to get rid of them." She looked inside and made a face of disgust. "I can't imagine why."

Through the blurry surface, a wash of warm colour filtered out. More than two dozen or so suited men were celebrating their winnings beneath a golden chandelier, hands full of expensive rings and wine. From the documents Kakashi had given to her prior, Sakura knew exactly how they made their substantial wealth.

Sasuke nodded in agreement, though he still had no idea who she was. He supposed that was the feat of being an assassin, after all.

"You see that one over there? Over by the piano?" He waited a moment to see acknowledgement in her eyes before he continued. "He's the one who initiates the shipments. Take him out and these bastards have no way to carry out their ordeals."

"Are you telling me how to do my job?"

"No, I'm telling you the best way to go about this. There's no point going in all guns-blazing until we can be sure to knock them all out individually. Too many of them for that."

"I don't use guns. Knives are more preferable. Never bust out on you, always reliable," she said thoughtfully.

She watched as his eyebrows shot up. "Really? You seem like a guns kind of person."

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't think I can handle getting my hands dirty?"

He shook his head. "Not that. Just something about you."

Now it was her turn to raise her brows. "What, am I too reckless, too impulsive? Believe me when I tell you I get enough of that from everybody else."

It didn't take much for Sasuke to believe her. "Look, all I'm saying is: get out of my way. I don't need you messing up this strategy."

"Who says I don't have my own strategy?"

"And what would that be?" he indulged her.

She stood, opening the window to the building before whipping out her knives and giving them an impressive whirl. "To gut each and every one of them. _Knives_ -blazing." She added with a grin before rushing down into the impending chaos.

Sasuke cursed before drawing his own sword, jumping in after her.

...

"That was pretty easy," she stated, wiping blood off her face unsuccessfully.

Sasuke's breathing was hard beside her. "More so than expected."

As soon as they had arrived, the pair had begun cutting down the members as efficiently as they could. They had stood almost back-to-back amidst the fight, and had managed the job in record time.

"Now," she said, looking over the heaps of bodies around them. "Look who's the one helping me?"

"I wasn't. This was supposed to be _strategised_ , not some impulsive endeavour to slaughter them all where they stand."

"But you have to admit," she said matter-of-factly, "it worked."

"Yes," he conceded, "but we nearly lost our wits because of it."

"And there's plenty more where that came from." She sighed. "Still, no one told you that you had to interfere."

"You forced my hand."

She clucked her tongue. "You just wanted to steal all my glory."

"There's no glory in murder."

"Don't tell me _you_ honestly believe that."

"No," he admitted. "I don't."

Sakura glanced around, surveying the piles of carcasses they had created. Her mind registered each and every one of them while Sasuke cleaned off his bloodied sword. "They didn't put up much of a fight."

"They're _business_ men. They have no combat skills." His voice came out exasperated, almost regretful.

"I thought you were supposed to be all pro-death," Sakura muttered distractedly, eyes wandering over the littered bodies.

 _Shit_. She'd only counted fifteen. She must've miscalculated their numbers when they were up on the roof. Or Sasuke's information had been incorrect. Either way, some of the Akatsuki were still out there.

"What? What is it?" Sasuke said, noticing the expression on her face.

"You'd said they were all here."

"They were," he said grimly, his own eyes now wandering, considering.

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but that's not the case."

He frowned. He remembered looking into the building before she had arrived, listing off the targets and planning the best way to get rid of them each. He had even pointed out the initiator to her.

"Twenty-four," Sakura said. "There were supposed to be twenty-four in total. Only fifteen of them lie at our feet. How could I be so foolish? I should've checked the numbers when I–"

"It doesn't matter."

She supposed he was right. The deed was done. Regardless, she couldn't help the tinge of annoyance she felt at herself for being so insufficient earlier. The presence of another assassin had thrown her off. _That's no excuse,_ Kakashi would say.

They were finished here, not much else they could do. It was doubtful the rest of the Akatsuki would return at such earlier hours. Perhaps they had never been there in the first place.

No matter. She would find them all eventually.

"So are you going to tell me your name?"

"Anonymity," Sakura said with a wink, not disclosing a thing. "Something you ought to learn."

Then she was gone.

* * *

 ** _This was sort-of like an introduction. I hope Sakura is not too ooc, I tried to make her as close to her original character while still incorporating her new backstory, and that required exaggerating some points of her personality. Expect some of the Akatsuki members to appear in the next chapters - and a lot of violence, if you're not okay with that. Thanks so much for reading!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**ii.**_

Returning to the compound, Sakura tried not to think about her folly but instead of ways she could take out the rest of the Akatsuki.

Her mentor was sure to be dissatisfied with the outcome, and she cursed her reckless behaviour not for the first time that night. A swift massacre. It should've been easy, especially for someone like her, who had had practice her entire life. Perhaps the goal had been too far-fetched considering her target were infamous for their cunning and treachery.

She glanced over her shoulder discreetly before pushing in the door that lead into the compound.

Kakashi stood under the harsh fluorescent light, his silver hair appearing colourless, leaning casually on a lone desk. Grudgingly, she strode closer, clearing her throat to interrupt him from the files he was looking at. "Got a new one for me?"

"That depends," he said, putting down the files. "How did the mission go?"

She took a deep breath. "I didn't get them all. Some of them had already escaped when I got there, I was so sure–" her hand fisted.

"How many are left?"

"Nine."

"This could present a problem," Kakashi stated, sighing. "They'll be expecting more attacks now that they're aware we are after them."

She nodded, knowing what this meant for her. She'd have to be careful, even more so than last time. A cold burn spread through her, partially her hatred for the men who had eluded her and partially her incapability to finish them all in one clean strike like she had originally planned.

Kakashi said nothing more, and she felt the disappointment roiling off him. Usually he would lecture her on all the things she'd done wrong and could've done better, and though she outwardly scorned the criticism, inside she noted every constructive word.

"I found Sasuke Uchiha," she offered instead, something to ease the blow of her failure. Something to get _some_ sort of reaction from him.

Kakashi tilted his head, mulling over the positives and negatives of this unexpected outcome.

"Good," he said simply.

This was worse than Kakashi's reprimands, this uncaring, indifferent voice, almost as if he expected her to fail. But Sakura could not say anything to change that.

She'd have to show him.

...

From what Sakura could see, there were only three of them. So much for taking the rest out like she had previously intended.

She consulted the file on the Akatsuki given to her prior to the assignment to identify them. Next to each picture was a short summary of their character, and she found she was facing the members Hidan, Kakuzu and Kisame.

Her mouth twisted in disgust as she read their vulgar attributes, and then turned to a frown as she noted they were extremely hard to kill.

But that was only because _she_ hadn't tried yet.

Sakura pulled out a knife before a hand stopped her, and her head instantly whipped to the side, gearing up for an attack–

"Oh. It's Mr _'I kill for fun'_."

"Tch. That is not true."

She raised her eyebrow at him, and he let go of her wrist, looking off to the side.

"Please tell me you were not planning to do that again."

"And by that, do you mean kicking all their asses in one go?"

He looked back at her, his face hard as if he was scolding her. Sakura had met the notorious Sasuke Uchiha but the day before, and already she had began to predict his belittling attitude.

"You don't even need to be here. I can do this without you," he gritted.

"How many times do I have to say this? I'm here because I'm getting paid. It's not my fault some other fool decided to hire you for the same job."

"You're messing up my plans."

"And you're messing up mine. Look, as much as I hate to say this, we might as well work together. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner the world can be rid of them and the sooner I can bathe in all that coin."

"You want to take a bath in money?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's a figure of expression."

"Fine," he said grudgingly. "The deals on, Sakura Haruno."

She started. "How do you know my name? I don't remember disclosing that information."

"Maybe I'm just that good of an assassin."

She glared at him.

"Who else could you be?"

She seemed to be satisfied with that answer, a grin spreading across her face. "That, my friend, is very true indeed."

...

It felt like they had been watching them for hours, the three Akatsuki, who seemed to be doing nothing except dispute with each other.

The most normal looking one – which, actually wasn't that normal at all – was living up to his file, down to the triple bladed scythe he carried. Apart from his questionable choice of weapon, he was sarcastic and held an animosity towards one of his colleagues, who regrettably reciprocated.

A sudden realisation clicked within her. "He's armed."

None of their previous targets had had a single weapon on them, or any knowledge of skilled combat. They were much, much more different, seeming to joke about the gruesome ways they could bury the other one in the ground alive. She wondered if Sasuke was taking notes.

Her meagre blades and daggers seemed incompetent next to their large tools of destruction. But size didn't matter; it was the wielder who truly put value into their weapon.

Unfortunately, they seemed just as capable.

She glanced at the sword at her partner's side, his thumb brushing the hilt as if it was a lovable pet. Her eyes rolled against her will. It seemed she hadn't understood the extent of his love for violence.

But who was she to judge? She had a love for chaos.

Sasuke, who had only just seemed to hear her, frowned. His brows furrowed in the most comical way that she would've laughed at if the situation was not serious.

"At least one of them doesn't have a weapon," she tried to lighten up, gesturing to one with a mask covering half his face.

"Not one that we can _see_."

Honestly, how was she supposed to work with this guy?

"What I was saying was, maybe we should take out that one first? His name is Kakuzu."

Sasuke looked over at who she had pointed out. "Are you sure you're not related? Your eyes are the same colour."

Was he– was he trying to make a _joke_? But then she realised the deeper meaning behind his words, that he remembered the exact shade of her eyes, and flushed.

"Uh, I–"

"It was a joke, Sakura," he said, giving her a condescending look.

"I know... just not that you were capable of it," she mumbled.

"Hn. Are we going to going to take them out or not?"

She nodded. "Right." Why was she getting so flustered? He had practically _insulted_ her by comparing her to that wretched leech.

Together, they planned what would be the best way to approach them, all the while the two Akatsuki members argued beneath them, the third occasionally interrupting to announce his annoyance.

"You – you want to use me as bait?!" she started.

"I didn't say that."

Sakura fumed. "But that's what you _meant!_ Don't try to deny it. You don't think I'm capable enough, even though you _fought_ beside me yesterday–"

"It's not that," he said, averting his eyes, "I'm just not used to working with other people."

"Then why did you accept?" she said, exasperated.

Sasuke seemed uncomfortable at the question. "Look, it's a better plan than yours."

"You haven't even heard mine!"

He raised an eyebrow. "But I can guess what it is."

"If you say 'kill them all in one go', I swear to Kami–"

Sasuke's lip quirked. "You said it, not me."

"Ugh!" she huffed, louder than she had intended.

The Akatsuki turned to look in their direction, and in that split second they had both ducked, eyes wide and hearts beating fast with the chance of being caught.

 _She was such an idiot!_ Sakura cursed herself. _She had let him get to her- why was she letting him get to her? She knew better than this; her misstep had caused them the element of surprise!_

"Kakuzu, did you hear that?" the member with the pale hair said.

His comrade nodded. Sakura and Sasuke tried to duck lower, feeling the criminals' eyes wandering the spot they were just standing on. It was useless. They were found.

"And I was just wondering what to sacrifice today."

It was now or nothing. Sasuke would probably berate her for it, but her intuition told her otherwise. This was their last opportunity to have the upper hand; if they attacked straight away, there was a small chance that the enemy wasn't ready yet.

Sakura's hand drifted to her knives.

But Sasuke was quicker. He must've been thinking the same thing, to her surprise. She didn't waste another moment before joining him in the fight.

The Akatsuki weren't unprepared. In fact, they proved right to her theories, and wielded their weapons well.

She aimed a swipe at the shark-man's face, but his sword deflected easily, landing a blow on her upper arm. Before she could try for another hit, Hidan's triple-bladed scythe swiped at her neck, and she had to jump back to avoid being decapitated. His off-key laughter rang in the air.

Sakura gritted her teeth. These were some of the hardest opponents she had had. She was used to killing, not confrontational battle. Dodging another attack, she gripped her knife tighter, and aimed for a weak spot–

A kick to the gut stopped her midstrike, and she choked, faltering. Sakura clenched her fist, ignoring the pain, and faced the perpetrator. Kakuzu.

"It's understandable why you do it. The money must be extraordinary. But what makes you think you can beat us?"

Sakura didn't have time to react, a whooshing sound to her right alerting her of another assault, and she blocked with her knife, bracing her arm for the burn as their weapons collided.

"Exchanging life for money isn't a job, don't listen to Kakuzu," Hidan said, as if they weren't engaged in a searing hold.

She bit back a scream. The pressure was too great, if they kept this up any longer, she was sure her arm would snap off.

With a surge of renewed energy, she shoved hard on her weapon, managing to push back her opponent enough to withdraw.

"I'm impressed you managed to survive that," he said, swinging his scythe back another time. But this time she was prepared, and skilfully evaded the barrage, flipping graciously away.

Her knife whipped forward in an attempt at a surprise attack, but a second figure intersected it. As much as they bickered, Kakuzu seemed to deflect any attack aimed at Hidan.

Sakura had an idea. He was fast, but maybe she could use that to her advantage.

She drew out a second knife, careful to avert as much attention to it. When she was satisfied it had caught Kakuzu's attention, she flung it hard. As expected, he went straight for it, missing her hidden intent to attack with her fists, and she caught him in the jaw, landing a second blow on Hidan's shoulder.

They recovered fast. "Now I'm mad. Let's slaughter these idiots!"

"Quick talk, for someone who's easy to kill," Sasuke said, suddenly appearing at his back, his sword running clean through Hidan's chest.

She had almost forgotten he was here.

Blood oozed from Hidan's chest. Incongruously, he grinned, mouth filling with a burble of blood, staining his teeth red.

Her eyes shifted to Sasuke, checking for any wounds. Apart from a few minor scratches, he was largely unscathed. Though he did seem a little tired.

 _Already?_ she thought, brows furrowing.

Sasuke started to draw the sword out of the Akatsuki's body, but she didn't have time to relish in his death, swivelling around to kick the shark-faced one under. Her success bought another attack from Kakuzu, but she punched him in the jaw again, sending him a few feet away.

She regained her breath, looking back at their fallen opponent, only to notice _he was still alive._

The moment of bewilderment caused her to miss the next strike at her, Kisame's sword biting into the flesh of her arm before she could escape.

Strange; with a single hit, she felt... weaker. Drained. This must be why Sasuke had looked so tired.

Tears stung her eyes and her shoulder throbbed, but she pulled her arm back anyway, aiming a hit at the bastard who had ambushed her, throwing him a few metres away with her strength.

She turned back to Hidan, who was in the middle of fighting Sasuke, and her mind whirled at the impossibility that he had lived. Had Sasuke missed his heart? Still, his wound should have had affected him, and it was almost as if it never happened.

But he wasn't immortal – there had to be some way to kill him.

Right now, though, she didn't have time to think about it anymore, with Kakuzu and Kisame attacking her as if there was no tomorrow. She was getting better with her fists, having lost her two knives somewhere in the melee, and dodged as much as she striked, choosing not to reveal the other weapons on her person until the time was right.

It was when she nearly lost her head a second time by Kisame's sword that she thought of something. Though, it required her to lose her current opponents.

The solution was easy; she would have to pummel them enough to disable them.

Landing several blows to their pressure points, the two were quickly hurt enough to pause for a moment. It was all she needed.

Sakura veered towards Sasuke and Hidan's fighting forms, and when they were in the midst of exchanging blows, she struck out, pinning Hidan down with her fist, opening up enough time for Sasuke to slice through the sarcastic Akastsuki's neck.

The rest were somewhat easier to kill after that.

Rage was pure on their faces, though perhaps not for their fallen member, but more for the fact that one of them had been defeated.

But rage bred stupidity, and this gave Sasuke and Sakura an edge.

High on their kill, they attacked together, seeming to realise it was the best way to get rid of their targets.

Apparently, the Akatsuki did not work so well together, as their attacks were sporadic and messy, especially after witnessing Hidan's death. Though this unpredictable behaviour presented a slight problem, the assassins were skilled enough to block, only light injuries hitting their bodies whilst the enemy took the brunt of it.

Kisame was the next to go. The hilt of Sakura's hidden dagger buried straight into his neck, having distracted him with yet another blow to the face.

His blood was still warm on her fingers when the last remaining member, Kakuzu, made to retreat. But he wasn't getting away this time.

She advanced on him while Sasuke moved to go behind him; exactly like he had done the first time he had tried to put an end to Hidan. Anticipating his moves, Kakuzu turned to shield himself from the oncoming attack, underestimating the foe before him.

Sakura didn't wait before plunging the knife into his back, her breathing rapid as his body fell to the floor.

There was a silence she used to regain herself.

"It shouldn't have been that hard," she said, frowning. Her arm hurt and her whole body ached. Even Sasuke looked worse for wear.

Somehow, Kisame's sword had weakened them. Not only that, they had been almost _worthy_ opponents. It was confusing – the Akatsuki were supposed to be business men.

She needed to tell Kakashi.

Before she turned to leave, she gave Sasuke a camaraderie nod. They couldn't have done this without each other, that much was certain.

His own features were grim, jaw locked as if he had just figured out this fact for himself.

"I'll see you, Sakura Haruno," he said, if a little grudgingly.

The fact that he knew her name still brought chills to her spine.

* * *

 _ **I just love the Akatsuki? idk they're just such great characters and I'm so excited to write about them! Would love to hear your thoughts!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**iii.**_

It was on the news the next day. Somehow, eighteen members of the notorious Akatsuki had been killed by assassins in two separate fights. The public were astonished at their swift ending, but in Sakura's eyes, it hadn't been swift enough.

When she had told Kakashi about their obvious combat skills, she hadn't expected such a reaction. He had looked almost calculating, which was normal, but then he had gotten a little crease between his eyebrows that told her it was definitely getting to him. And that was bad.

In all of their intel, the one thing that had been clear as crystal was that the Akatsuki were business men. They dealt in illegal affairs that somehow no one was able to prove, allowing them to get away with their misdeeds time after time. It was why they had been hired to kill them in the first place, and it was why the first assassination had been so easy.

It was also supposed to have been the _only_ assassination.

It seemed that those who were not part of the first slaughter were somehow trained in warfare. They had originally thought that some carried weapons out of a need to be flashy and show their wealth, or maybe even as a defence. It was an entirely different thing that they could _use_ them, let alone so well. And if Kakashi was worried then something was definitely up. He had been her mentor for her entire assassin career – if you could call it that – but never had she seen him look like that.

Currently, she was waiting for the Akatsuki to reappear on their radar. After the two massacres, they had been lying low in what she could only hope was fear. But it could equally be in preparation. Most of the day had passed by like that, Sakura lying with her head hanging off a lone couch, one of the few pieces of furniture in the bleak compound. It was hours before they heard anything.

"They're in the east quarter," Kakashi stated, startling her from her languid position.

She got up instantly, a determined expression gracing her features. "Right," she nodded in acknowledgement, knowing exactly what he expected of her.

She was gone before he could blink.

...

When she arrived at the place their intel had claimed, a small opening in a dense pack of forest, she frowned.

The Akatsuki were nowhere to be found. Had their source been wrong?

Not wanting to give up so quickly, Sakura waited, turning in a slow circle in the hopes of catching even a glimpse of her targets amongst the trees.

Not even a leaf moved.

Her hands fisted. Perhaps she hadn't been fast enough in getting here– no. She had left the compound as soon as they had got word, and it wasn't possible that they could've moved so quickly. Staying on her guard, she scanned the foliage once more.

Beginning to get impatient with all the pent up energy of the day, Sakura contemplated leaving. There wasn't anything she could do if her targets weren't present, so she would have to return to the compound without having completed her mission. She couldn't imagine what Kakashi would say–

A _whoosh_ sounded near her, and Sakura flipped away, narrowly missing a hit to her shoulder. A needle-like blade buried itself in the ground next to her, gleaming with a sharpness clearly intended to kill.

An ambush.

Precisely what she had been planning on doing, but the Akatsuki had got to it first.

The members Sasori and Deidara stood before her, the former expressionless and the latter with a hint of a smile on his face.

She gritted her teeth: again not all of the members were present, and she had the feeling they didn't think they were worthy of going against more than a few of them at a time. What an insult! Sakura reached discreetly for a weapon, not removing her eyes from them once. But they did nothing except stare at her, so she figured she might as well make the first move.

Whipping her knife in their direction, she was about to fling it at them before they moved, jumping off to the sides. Again, she was left facing the blank forest.

A needle thunked into her thigh, and she gasped in shock. She pulled it out quickly, blood gushing from the small wound, and gripped it tight in her fist.

So they were going to toy with her.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around, only for another one of the weapons to come straight for her. Dodging her body to the side, she faced the enemy with an expression akin to fury on her face.

They seemed to consider at that, for the next moment a cascade of the needles made for her way. Flipping consecutively, Sakura managed to miss the brunt of it, but couldn't stop the few that sunk into her flesh. She hissed at the stinging pain it produced, and decided not to stand back any longer.

Leaping for the two Akatsuki, this time she made sure to get a hit in, aiming straight for the one who had thrown the needles. _Sasori_. She strained her mind for any more information about him on the file and remembered that he was a long-distance fighter, but that was utterly useless since she had already just experienced it first-hand.

It was then that the blonde one decided to show his skill; hurling weapons of what seemed like hardened clay at her. She flipped back out of weariness, and lucky at that, as they exploded like small bombs where she had just stood.

Cursing, Sakura turned to them, trying to formulate a plan on how she could get rid of them when they didn't even let her near.

The next time the two Akatsuki attacked was together, Deidara grinning as the explosions forced her back further. She found herself at a stalemate, unable to do anything but dodge and flip. The oncoming of needles and bombs was endless.

Out of nowhere, a swooping figure of black fell from the sky, the silhouette of darkness landing a few feet behind from her, cape rippling with the striking force.

Sasuke removed his sword from its place by his waist and turned to gauge the situation.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," she said breathlessly, already in the thick of the fight.

He nodded in acknowledgement before joining her, wielding his sword with incredible grace and hitting most of the needles before they could come close.

She used the gathered time to think, but could come up with nothing. Her forte was supposed to be rushing into action, but these long-distance fighters proved difficult. Even with Sasuke now here beside her, she still found herself on the defence when where they needed to be was on the _offence_.

"Now, let me show you some real art!" the blonde one bellowed, flinging a bomb that was more sizable than the others at them.

Sasuke and Sakura evaded, ending up on different sides of the line-of-fire.

Apparently, that was the plan, for the two Akatsuki split, never ceasing their perilous attacks. Sasuke found himself being herded away further into the forest by one of them whilst Sakura continued to dodge lithely at the weapons of the one left behind.

It was a clever move on their part, separating them when that had been the reason for their success the last time. She could only hope he would emerge victorious, not chancing a glance back to see which direction they had gone. Right now, she needed to try to do the same.

The opponent in front of her once again seemed to have paused in his attacks to stare at her in that rather eerie way of his. His nails were painted a foreboding black and there were shadows under his eyes, giving him a tired look.

A wake of needles lay between them, their sharp ends sticking out from the ground like pikes.

Sakura watched as he unhurriedly began to remove more from a place hidden in his cloak. She panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She had used up a lot of energy dodging during the previous assault.

Good thing she had a lot more to spare.

...

Sasuke gritted his teeth, starting to get tired of the unrelenting bombs that his opponent threw at him. The one he faced – Deidara – seemed a little insane, and that accredited to the tattoos of tongues he had on both his hands.

"Do you really think glaring like that is going to scare me?" Deidara said.

Silently seething, Sasuke continued to avoid the small bombs. His opponent paused in his arrogance, seeming to notice Sasuke's frustration, choosing to throw more taunting words instead. "I rather enjoy playing with y–"

Sasuke took the opening, slicing his sword towards his chest, left vulnerable in his surety of triumph.

The blond-haired Akatsuki stumbled, eyes widening in shock.

Just as Sasuke thought he had harmed him, Deidara reached swiftly into his pockets, producing more of his bombs and releasing them in a barrage.

"Ha!"

Sasuke swivelled, batting them away with his sword like insignificant flies. "Child's play," he responded.

But Deidara was grinning. "Oh, it's not over yet."

From where they had landed, the bombs began to _grow_ as if they were a living thing. Confused, Sasuke glanced up at the man who had procured them, unsuspecting of what would greet him.

On his outstretched hands, the pink tongues glistened and _moved_.

They weren't tattoos at all.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight of them. Surely it was impossible, but here was solid proof of something so horrendous, so profane that he almost felt sick.

Deidara seemed to relish in his disgust, for his maniac grin grew wider. In the next moment, there were small creatures beginning to take shape from the bombs' remnants. But Sasuke did not waste another moment, appearing behind the Akatsuki member in an attack, his will to end him even stronger than before. He managed a shallow cut to his back before Deidara retreated, hissing in annoyance.

It seemed the creatures forming were more explosives, for when Deidara accidently landed on them in his escape, they blew up around him.

Sasuke smirked, apparently having planned that the whole time.

It was Deidara's turn to grit his teeth.

The two engaged in a gruelling exchange of blows, but Sasuke seemed to have the upper hand due to both his pure strength and Deidara's injury. He whipped a blow at Deidara's gut, the latter cursing as he dodged narrowly. This continued as Deidara hurled more bombs at him in the hopes to throw him off, but not a single one managed to hit Sasuke.

"Who the hell even are you?" Deidara spat, growing angry.

"Anonymity," Sasuke said, thinking back to Sakura's words to him when they first met, before he thrust his sword toward him.

At the last minute, Deidara made to move, but he was not fast enough. The sword punched through his ribs, missing his heart but still landing a fatal enough blow to begin slowly draining the life out of him.

"I will not lose to you," he gritted as he bled out, "Not to such a...such a..."

Raising an eyebrow as if he anticipated what he had to say, Sasuke pulled the sword back before plunging it back into his chest.

This time he did not miss.

...

Sakura had managed to inch closer to her opponent, but he was still too far from her to land a good punch. For some reason, she had begun to rely on her fists more that her knives since her previous fights with the Akatsuki. It was a strength she had never expected to use outside of the training room, but they did not fail her, so she carried on using them to her advantage.

Sasori was quiet as he continued to attack her. It seemed the endless supply of needles in his cloak really _was_ endless.

A rattling from trees stole her attention, and she was just quick enough to see another of the Akatsuki jump towards her–

But this wasn't another member. It wasn't even human, but rather, a _puppet_. And it seemed like somehow, Sasori was controlling it. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she wondered how this was possible.

The endurance fight between the needles quickly became a fight against this new monstrosity, which unluckily for her, still shot out needles from beneath its clothing.

Honestly, she was beginning to feel like a voodoo doll.

Flipping away from the onslaught, Sakura slid on the ground in a crouch position, analysing the situation before her. The puppet rattled as its master adjusted its position.

She had a plan. And there was no one here to stop her from doing what she did best.

Launching herself from her stance, Sakura began running at full speed, building momentum as she headed directly for the Akatsuki.

Immediately, the puppet moved to block her way, putting itself directly between her and Sasori. She pulled back her fist, mouth lifting up at the corners.

"Cha!" Sakura yelled as the puppet neared, aiming directly at its middle. The pieces shattered around her, momentarily obscuring Sasori's view from her as dust and splintered wood were flung into the air from the sheer force.

Sakura stepped on the puppet's broken torso in mid-air, using it as a stepping stone in order to reach her real target. She was suspended high above, arm ready to punch the living daylight out of her him.

With wide eyes, the puppet-master fled from her reach, causing Sakura to land harshly.

But that didn't deter her. Almost as soon as she fell, she got back up again, once more collecting her speed towards Sasori.

Needles headed her way as the Akatsuki member backed off. Sakura continued her path forward, twisting around the weapons, intent on closing the distance. _Enough was enough._ As she reached, still running at break-neck speed, Sakura threw a punch straight at his face.

Sasori stumbled, halting in his movements. He opened his mouth to say something, face slowly turning towards her.

Sakura didn't wait. She whipped out two of her concealed daggers, and with an upwards thrust, stuck them straight into Sasori's sides.

His body limped to the floor in an imitation of his fallen puppet.

The quiet of the forest once more filled her ears. _What had he been about to say?_ She shook her head, clearing them of pointless thoughts.

"Five down, four to go," she said to herself, her breathing hard from the over-exertion. At this rate, it would take them _days_ to extinguish the Akatsuki. Days they could use to regroup and–

"Sakura."

Even now, hearing her name when it had not been used by many others in years, made her stop. She turned to find a rather worn out Sasuke at the edge of the clearing, his clothes ripped and cape entirely discarded.

Sasuke glanced at the body at her feet, and then back to her. For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw remorse in his eyes – not for the dead but at what they had to do.

"We should move quickly. They will come for the bodies soon."

 _Bodies._ So he had managed to kill the other member, not that it was a surprise to her.

"Did you notice? They weren't...normal," she said, for lack of a better word.

"I think we got of lightly the last time," Sasuke agreed grimly.

Between them, they briefly shared the strange abnormalities of their targets that they found out during their fights. Sakura wrung her hands, which were covered in specs of blood. "It just doesn't make sense."

"I know," Sasuke sighed, averting his eyes. "It doesn't matter. The Akatsuki will be no more soon enough."

She nodded, and a silence overtook them. They hadn't had a proper chance to speak when the fight had begun, but then what else was there to say?

Sakura told herself that it was for the best. The more conversation she avoided with Sasuke the better in foresight. And besides, her wounds had teared open in her last attack, the blood now trickling out at a steady rate.

With a final nod, Sasuke left, as quick and sudden as he had appeared. Sakura knew she had to do the same, beginning to walk towards the compound's direction.

She thought she saw a flash of white in the trees, but it was gone the instant she looked towards it.

* * *

 ** _And so, two more of the Akatsuki have fallen. It's so much fun writing this. It's also very hard. Who knew action scenes took so much careful thought? Look forward to learning more about Sasuke in the next chapter._**


End file.
